Saturday Vids: The Girls of Atomic City

I personally love uncovered stories of how women shaped history, which is why I’m adding The Girls of Atomic City to my reading list. The book covers how at the height of WWII, thousands of young girls – many in their teens – were recruited to the secret city of Oak Ridge, TN, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Each girl was given a specific role and forbidden to ask about its ultimate goal or discuss with anyone else. Kept in the dark, the girls were completely unaware what their individual roles were working together to accomplish until the atomic bomb was dropped. Denise Kiernan reveals the story behind the first Manhattan Project which began in NYC in 1942.

Forced Prostitution During World War II

I recently read an article posted on Yahoo News about prostitution during World War II in Japan. Prostitution is a difficult and controversial subject for feminists, but what most can agree on is that forced prostitution is a horror equivalent to slavery that needs to be stopped. However, the mayor of Osaka, Japan, Toru Hashimoto disagrees. When reflecting on the horrors of World War II, Hashimoto publicly claimed that the Japanese military’s forced prostitution of Asian women was crucial in order for the army to “maintain discipline” and provide a release for soldiers risking their lives in battle.

During World War II, Hashimoto’s opinion on forced prostitution was probably shared by the majority of military officials and soldiers who were serving, but that obviously doesn’t make it right, and …

WWII Women Pilots Honored

W.A.S.P. Pilots in WWII

The New York Times reports that the members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P.) will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, one of America’s highest civilian honors. Out of more than 1,000 female pilots who were the first women to take control of American military planes, the 300 surviving members in addition to the deceased, will receive the medals.

Apparently, during WWII these under recognized women filled in for the short supply of male pilots, but were still considered civilians, receiving no benefits or honors.

Another example of awesome women being a side note of history. I honestly had no idea that this had ever happened — I’d always thought of the big female action in WWII-era America as being when women filled in for men …